If I had a definitive solution I'd propose it, but I don't think one exists. There will always be crazies looking to inflict damage and suffering onto innocent people, we'll never rid that from society. But I think there are certainly ways to fix this.
I could probably rant for days but I'll try to make it concise. I think I addressed why I believe we've seen a pickup in this in my last post. So how do we prevent this?
1) It starts at home with strong parenting and a stable, supportive home life. Something like 35% of American kids live in single parent households, another 10-15% live with only one birth parent and a step parent. I would call that out as a serious issue and not conducive to raising a healthy child. It's hard for me to comment without having kids yet, but parents need to be active, supportive, honest and engaged with their kids to help develop their self-esteem and personal security as they grow up. Parents/Schools/etc. need to teach kids from a young age that it's ok to fail, you're not always going to get your way (this is what I asserted that we now live in a victim culture where everything that goes wrong is always someone else's fault, it transcends political party), that it's ok to acknowledge your imperfections. We can't hide kids them from the realities of life.
2) Open and honest acceptance of mental illness in society. There is still a stigma attached to it where there shouldn't be. Taking your child to get therapy shouldn't be embarrassing. Having on sight school psychologists should be a must. I feel like too often parents will either choose to ignore the warning signs in certain kids or rely simply on dangerous meds to "change" their kids behavior. Kids shouldn't be popping anti depressants/adderall/etc. to control their moods except in SEVERE cases, that **** is nuts.
3) Get kids the **** out social media/video games/etc. Kids can barely interact anymore. Get them outside, playing sports, interacting with each other.
